Arya
Arya (titled Arya Svit-kona, Arya Dröttningu; also known as Arya Shadeslayer) is a female elf, the daughter of Queen Islanzadí and her mate, the late King Evandar, and therefore a princess. Arya is stunningly beautiful, with long raven-black hair and slanted green eyes. She is also a master swordswoman and Magic User. Eragon expressed his deep feelings for her on many occasions, but because of the broad age gap between them, her fear of Eragon distracting himself from more pressing matters, and the fact that Eragon hadn't spent more than a few months with her, she chose to reject his advances. Early years Arya was born a year before the fall of the Riders, placing her age near 100 years. Arya was banned from Islanzadí's presence because she chose to devote herself to the greater good of her race (symbolized by her acceptance of the Yawë), and to the cause of the Varden. She has been the elven ambassador to the Varden for seven decades. She was appointed the courier of the dragon egg Brom and Jeod had managed to recover from Galbatorix's clutches. She spent 15 years conveying the precious egg back and forth from Farthen Dûr to Ellesméra, in the hopes that eventually a new Dragon Rider would be found. Capture and Torture With the knowledge that the traitorous Twins had conveyed to him, Galbatorix sent the shade Durza to ambush Arya and recapture the egg. The Shade managed to accomplish the former (while killing two other elves, Glenwing and Fäolin), but as he was closing in on her, Arya teleported the egg into the wilds of the Spine, intending that Brom, in Carvahall, would find it. Instead, the egg came to Eragon, and Arya was imprisoned in Gil'ead. There, she suffered horrendous treatment at Durza's hands, being tortured to the edge of insanity and death several times, but she refused to reveal any information about the Varden, the Elves, the ancient language, or the egg's location. Each day, she was given a dose of a deadly poison, called Skilna Bragh, then given the antidote, Tunivor's Nectar (devised by the Elven inventor), to ensure she wouldn't die while in their clutches, but would if she escaped. This may have been how her captors got Arya to take a magic suppressing drug so she couldn't contact anyone magically. On the verge of going mad on account of her suffering, furthered by her despair and the lack of compassion among her captors, Arya began hallucinating and seeing scenes from her past. It was revealed in Brisingr that a soldier gave her a white rose, which was the only kindness shown her in Gil'ead. Ultimately, Galbatorix, dissatisfied with Durza's inability to extract information from her, ordered Arya to be brought to Urû'baen, where he would interrogate her personally. Fortunately, events would prevent this, thereby saving Arya from being forced to yield to Galbatorix, and the slow, torturous death she would likely have suffered when she was of no further use. Later when Eragon rescued her, he saw the horrifying traces of torture that Durza inflicted on her, :"The elf's arm was mottled with a layer of bruises and cuts; some half healed, others fresh and oozing. Eragon shook his head in anger and pulled the sleeve up higher. The injuries continued to her shoulder. With trembling fingers, he unlaced the back of her shirt, dreading what might be under it. As the leather slipped off, Murtagh cursed. The elf's back was strong and muscled, but it was covered in a layer of scabs that made her skin look like dry, cracked mud. She had been whipped mercilessly and branded with hot irons in the shape of claws. Where her skin was still intact, it was purple and black from numerous beatings." However, in the movie, there seemed to be no visible signs of abuse on her, save for the wound that Durza had pierced above her breasts on her sternum. The movie also changed a big part in the plot: when Eragon had rescued Arya and journeyed to the Varden, she was unconscious the whole time in the book, but in the movies, she was conscious and collapsed later in the journey due to Durza's poison. Rescue While traveling with Brom, and later Murtagh, Eragon had visions of Arya in her cell while he was sleeping. Arya believed that, during the time she was imprisoned, her spirit searched for familiar presences so that she could be saved by them. Due to Saphira's connection with Eragon, she believed she reached out to him because she had grown accustomed to Saphira's presence while traveling with the dragon's egg. Eragon was heavily impacted by his visions of this mysterious lady. When he was captured by Durza, and imprisoned in the same prison as the Elf, he met her face-to-face for the first time. When Murtagh and Saphira staged a daring rescue mission, Eragon insisted that Arya come along with them, despite the difficulties this might incur upon their travels. When Eragon and Murtagh attempted to move her to a bed one night during their travels, her sleeve tore on a branch and revealed numerous cuts and bruises. After further investigation, they found her entire body beaten, branded, and scarred from long periods of torture. Arya remained in a self-induced comatose state, which slowed the effects of the deadly poison within her. Mentally communicating with Eragon, however, she informed him that unless they could reach the Varden, who had the antidote - Tunivor's Nectar - she would die within three or four days. Farthen Dûr The trio, Murtagh, Eragon and Saphira, managed to deliver Arya to the Varden in Farthen Dûr in time for her to be saved. She was treated back to health and was the one who tested Eragon in his trial for swordsmanship. Arya also fought in the battle between the Varden and the Kull. Before the battle, she explained to Eragon that elven women were unlike human women, who would flee when danger arrived. Arya went up to the dragonhold with Eragon and Saphira, and whilst Eragon went down the slide beside Vol Turin to confront Durza, Arya helped take off Saphira's damaged armor. Once the armor was off, Saphira broke the Isidar Mithrim with magic and distracted Durza long enough for Eragon to kill him. Ellesméra and The Burning Plains After the battle and the havoc wreaked by the death of Ajihad, Arya accompanied Eragon to Ellesméra, where she reconciled with her estranged mother. Her feelings towards Eragon, however, began to grow cool as he approached her with unwanted admiration. Following the Blood-Oath Celebration, she returned to the Varden and aided them in preparing for attack by Galbatorix's forces. She fought at the Battle of The Burning Plains and was, along with Nasuada, the first one to hear Murtagh's claim, from Eragon, that Eragon was the son of Morzan. Assistance in the Empire Following Eragon and Roran's rescue of Katrina in Helgrind, Arya set out to find Eragon, who had stayed behind to kill the last Ra'zac. She found him and traveled back with him, encountering some soldiers and fighting them. Eragon's hand was injured and Arya healed it, even though he was perfectly capable of doing it himself . After they had made camp, they discussed what it is like to kill and what suffering is. Eragon and Arya also hold hands for a short while after Arya reveals her former closeness with Fäolin. Battle of Feinster During the Battle of Feinster, Arya and Blödhgarm infiltrate the city to open the magically locked gates from the inside, thus letting the Varden into the city. On infiltration, the two of them run into three spellcasters who contact soldiers then distract the two of them while the soldiers arrive. The soldiers surround Blödhgarm and Arya, and would have killed them by sheer weight of numbers had Eragon and Saphira not arrived and scared away the soldiers. During this siege, it is quickly revealed to Roran and Arya that Eragon is the son of Brom. Slaying of Varaug After meeting back up with Eragon and Saphira, the trio found the three escaped spellcasters in the top of the castle trying to summon a shade. The trio killed the spellcasters but failed to stop the shade from being summoned. The shade immediately named himself Varaug and mentally struck at Eragon, Saphira and Arya all at the same time. During their mental struggle, Eragon and Saphira had a vision of Glaedr and Oromis, allowing the shade to choke Arya. Eragon then came out of his vision to see Arya on the verge of death and struck at the shade mentally. While Varaug was occupied with Eragon, Arya stabbed him through the heart killing him. Her victory celebration was short-lived; when Eragon informed her of Oromis and Glaedr's deaths, and she fell into Eragon's arms with grief. When Eragon showed her Glaedr's Eldunarí, Arya spoke to it in the Ancient Language, and the burning glow of the heart, containing Glaedr's spirit, seemed to calm down. Personal information Romance Arya confirmed she valued Fäolin, a male elf, but never admitted more than that. He died protecting her from Durza and the Urgals in [[Prologue: Shade of Fear|the prologue in Eragon]]. Many readers believe that Arya has feelings towards Eragon, though this has not yet been officially confirmed. In Brisingr, Arya's relationship with Eragon became very friendly and very close. There are also several places in Brisingr and Eldest where hints suggest that Arya actually does have feelings for Eragon. Some include: suddenly running to Helgrind when Eragon didn't come back, healing Eragon's hand when he was perfectly capable of healing his own hand and looking away embarrassed and saying, "I am glad you were by my side today, Eragon", greeting him when he joined the Varden in Feinster, but not Saphira, and hugging him in the end for so long in her grief at Oromis's death, especially when she never allowed such contact between them. It has yet to be seen whether this relationship shall come to anything; this could be the beginnings of the epic romance which Angela prophesied about in the start of this series. Powers Arya was very highly trained in magic and swordplay during her first thirty years, until she was strong enough to guard Saphira's egg. She is a master of the blade and, as an elf, possessed speed and strength beyond that of any human, save Galbatorix, and later, Murtagh and Eragon. She also possesses a very advanced knowledge of magic; she was able to summon the essence of silver, something even the Twins couldn't do. She also had the power to smash the Isidar Mithrim, a sixty foot gem, with her sword, and hold the fragments in the air to prevent them from crushing Eragon (though she fainted from the overuse of magic afterward). She stated near the end of the Eragon that she believed she was powerful enough to defeat a Shade, which she eventually did with help from Eragon, becoming the fourth Shadeslayer in history. Arya was also very skilled in the use of mental powers. She was able to defend her mind and strike out with it even when unconscious and poisoned, and could even contact someone on the other side of Alagaësia. When Murtagh attacked the Varden, Arya was one of the fourteen spellcasters to join forces against him (the others being Eragon, Blödhgarm, and eleven other elf spellweavers). With their enormous combined power, they managed to drive Murtagh away, but could not capture him. Arya was severely fatigued after contributing so much energy to the effort. As an elf, Arya's senses are also very developed, equal to Eragon's. Her magic is green. Personality Arya was usually stoic, impassive and reserved; giving no hint as to what her emotions might be. When she does show them they are very strong. She refused most questions about her past to people who did not know her identity already, and even then treated most of them coldly and indifferently, including Eragon and her mother, and with a very serious attitude. Her span of tolerance was short, and she frequently became annoyed or impatient with Eragon. She also tended to be opinionated and outspoken, often arguing with the dwarves because of their difference in beliefs, stating that unlike them, the elves do not mutter to the air for help. Arya appears to hold traditional human gender roles in distaste, and reminded Eragon on more than one occasion that she is not a "helpless female". She also mentioned during Brisingr that even after seventy years among them, she still doesn't understand why humans believe men and women should wear different things. Perhaps because of her seventy year separation from her people and the death of her companions at the hands of Durza, Arya became solitary, aloof, and withdrawn. When among the Varden, or even the elves, she tends not to have company and, on occasion, appears uncomfortable among other elves. Most of the time she keeps to herself and out of other peoples' company. After returning to the elves, she opens up more to Eragon and becomes happier. In Brisingr they talk all night, and talk more openly about their feelings and past experiences with each other. In one instance, Arya heals a minor wound of Eragon's, though he could easily heal it himself. This shows Arya might be beginning to feel the same way about Eragon that he does for her. Before Eragon and Murtagh engage in Brisingr, she pauses before telling Eragon something important. Unlike the rest of her people, she was direct and practical in speech, rarely wasting breath with expressions or similes, and was not bothered with the idea of using animal products such as leather. Despite her solitary disposition, she was very dedicated to her people and cause, enduring endless tortures to keep the secrets of the elves out of the Empire's hands, and even willing to die for no reason other than to deny Galbatorix. She also seemed to feel a sense of duty in protecting or helping Eragon and Saphira at any opportunity. This is largely due to the Yawë that she took upon herself. Physical Description Arya has slanted green eyes, long raven-black hair held back by a leather strap, and tawny skin. She is taller than most men. When outside Ellesméra, she dresses in plain black leather. She wears a sword at her hip and carries her bow on her back. When in Ellesméra, she allows her hair to flow freely and does not carry any weapons. She wears the elves soft tunics, felt pants and soft socks (in the book she is mentioned to have worn a green tunic cinched at the waist with a girdle adorned with moonstones). She also has the Yawë tattooed on her right shoulder in indigo ink. Family Arya's family was one of the several royal houses in Ellesméra. Arya's family, whose line possibly dated back to Queen Tarmunora, had been in power for many years. Tarmunora was succeeded by Dellanir, Arya's grandmother, implying that Tarmunora was of the same elven house. However, Tarmunora could have handed the throne to another royal house. Dellanir ruled for centuries before voluntarily abdicating in favor of her son, Evandar. Evandar then became king and mated with an Elf princess, Islanzadí, who gave birth to Arya. Evandar died at the hands of either Galbatorix or one of the Forsworn most likely during the Rider War, and Islanzadí ruled after him. It is unclear how many family members Arya has apart from her mother; however, Arya has stated that she has no brothers or sisters. The only other member of the same House mentioned, and that only in passing, was named Niduen. Niduen sent a gift to Eragon when he arrived in Ellesméra, but it is uncertain what relation Niduen was to Arya. Titles Dröttning and Dröttningu are used as titles in Christopher Paolini's fiction, as opposed to representing a surname or name of the House. "House Dröttning" is a misnomer; Drottning means 'Queen' in Old Norse (as well as modern Swedish), which Paolini's Ancient Language borrows heavily from. Dröttning in the broader sense may refer to a 'female sovereign', 'the spouse of the ruler' or simply mean 'mistress'. (See the link below). The word has survived in modern usage in Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic and Danish where it means 'Queen'. The word drottning in Old Norse shares etymological roots with drottin which means 'lord', 'ruler', 'chief'. (See the link below). Drottin is now out of usage in modern descendants of Old Norse as it was replaced by Konungr, which particularly means 'king'. For more details see the Wikipedia article on drottin. Dröttning is Islanzadí's title. There is a clear distinction between the two titles "Dröttning" and "Dröttningu": these terms are never used interchangeably and neither is this a case of typographical error. This can be seen from a number of occasions in the book Eldest: In each case Arya is Drottningu while Islanzadí is Dröttning. In ancient Norse, the word "Drottningu" means 'princess' while "Drottning" refers to 'queen.' Also, according to the books, the ancient language translation that "Arya Dröttningu" means Princess Arya... * In addition, the structure of the invented Ancient Language is notable. The grammar dictates that the principal noun precedes the adjective or the helping noun. This is similar to French, Spanish, and Italian. The case is exactly opposite in English (hence creating the misleading impression that Dröttning is the surname). :*Vinr Alfakyn, not Alfakyn Vinr (Vinr = Friend; Alfakyn = Elves/Elfkind literal transliteration is Friend Elf but actual translation is Elf Friend). :*Du Fells Nangoroth (Fells = Mountains (Old Norse); Nangoroth = Blasted) :*Du Fryn Skulblaka (Fryn = War; Skulblaka = Dragon); :*Agaeti Blodhren (Agaeti = Celebration (Old Norse); Blodhren = Blood-Oath (Blodh = blood - Old Norse)); :*Du Vollr Eldrvarya (Vollr = Plains/Fields/Grounds (Old Norse); Eldrvarya = Burning (Eldr = fire — Old Norse)). :*Eragon states that the Du Vrangr Gata are ignorant, as correctly they should be named Du Gata Vrangr, where Gata = Path and Vrangr = Wandering. When he pays his tribute to the dead king Hrothgar he says, "Stydja unin mor'ranr Hrothgar Konungr" not Konungr Hrothgar. :*Therefore, the correct usage is Islanzadí Dröttning, not Drottning Islanzadí; likewise Arya Dröttningu, not Dröttningu Arya. * It would also seem inappropriate to call Evandar, a male elf, Evandar Dröttning (which is a feminine word). If the situation arises, he would likely be called formally as Evandar Konungr. * The word dröttningu is obscure but means "princess" in Old Norse. * The system of giving family or last names is very different in the fictional Alagaësia from the real English-speaking world: :*Dwarves introduce themselves as a person's son. eg: Orik, Thrifk's son; Thorv, Brokk's son. :*Elves customarily introduce themselves as hailing from such and such House. eg: Lifaen of House Rilvenar, Vanir of House Haldthin, Bellaen of House Miolandra, Oromis of house Thrandurin. :*Some humans and dwarves have been referred to by adding the suffix sson or''sdaughter'' to their father's or mother's name. eg: Roran Garrowsson, Katrina Ismirasdaughter. This practice is followed in present day in Nordic countries, where the corresponding suffix for a woman is sdottir after her father's name. * Further evidence — Eldest, Bellaen's note to Eragon: (pg. 241, 242). He introduces himself as from House Miolandra. However he wrote that Niduen was from Islanzadí's House, as opposed to Niduen of House Dröttning. It would also be incorrect to write Niduen Dröttning or Niduen Dröttningu, as she isn't the sovereign of the elves or the heir incumbent and may not be royalty — therefore the title wouldn't apply in her case. (For further reference please see the Zoega Old Icelandic dictionary and Cleasby Vigfusson Old Icelandic dictionary both available for free viewing at the [http://www.northvegr.org/vigfusson/107.php Northvegr Foundation's] website.) Old Norse-English dictionaries available online: [http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/096.php Zoega entry on drottin/''drottning''] [http://www.northvegr.org/vigfusson/107.php Vigfusson entry on drottin/''drottning''] Real-world connections Similarities * Arya is similar to J.R.R. Tolkien's Arwen (even her name is similar) from The Lord of the Rings. Both are elves (In Arwen's case, Half-Elven), and both are loved by a human (Eragon and Aragorn. The main difference between them is that Arwen falls in love with Aragorn before the story began. * Arya's name in Old Persian means "noble" while Arwen's name means "noble maiden" * Arya is also comparable to Star Wars' Leia Organa Solo, who was originally intended to be Luke's love interest.' * Arya is also slightly similar to Evanlyn from Ranger's Apprentice who is rescued by the hero (who is Will in this book) but hides her royalty. She was also the Princess of a Kingdom (being Araluen in Ranger's Apprentice). She also has a romantic interest in the hero. Other * Arya was portrayed by Sienna Guillory in the film version of Eragon. Her portrayal of Arya has been criticized because she had no pointed ears, and her hair color is lighter than stated in the books. * Arya appears to be more romantically interested in Eragon in the movie than as described in the book. * The word "Arya" itself is a Sanskrit and Avestan/Old Persian word that means "noble". * Arya is one of the most-criticized characters of Inheritance. It is argued that her character is one-dimensional, as Christopher Paolini focuses more on her beauty and skills in battle than her personality. The 'scene' in Eldest when she attacks a dwarven priest's religious beliefs have also been criticized, as it shows a degree of intolerance that an experienced diplomat such as Arya should not express. * Arya is a Sanskrit word that was used in ancient India for expressing reverence, as in 'Sir' in English. Notes de:Arya es:Arya_Dröttningu nl:Arya pl:Arya ru:Арья Category:Characters Category:Elves Category:Magic users Category:Varden Category:Royalty Category:Females